Poly(arylene sulfide) polymers are generally known in the art, and are suitable for many applications due to their high temperature and chemical resistance, good electrical properties and inherent flame retardancy. For certain applications it is desired that the poly(arylene sulfide) polymer be of relatively high molecular weight. While processes are known for the preparation of relatively high molecular weight polymers, it is generally difficult to polymerize to very high molecular weight without using much longer polymerization times. It would be desirable to have a process for directly polymerizing a poly(arylene sulfide) to a high molecular weight without employing extremely long polymerization times.